CHAPTER II

SPEAKING
MATHEMATICALLY
 Learning Objectives:

 Discuss the language, symbols, and conventions of mathematics

 Explain the nature and usefulness of mathematics as a language.
 Perform operations on mathematical expressions correctly.

2.2 Set Theory

A. Introduction to Set Theory
 Set – is a well-defined collections of objects

Examples:
a. letters of the English Alphabet
b. nursing students in HNU
c. even natural numbers

 Element/Member – each object that is found in a set.

"(Symbol: ∈ element of the set, ∉ not element of the set)"

Examples:
a. {a, b, c, . . ., y, z}"
b. {Abby, Bea, Carol}"
c. {2, 4, 6, 8, . . .}"

Common Ways to Designate sets

• List or Roster method

• Descriptive method
• Set-builder Notation method

List or Roster Method

 Elements that are listed between braces, with commas between the elements."

 The order in which we list elements is not important.

Examples:
a. Write the set of months of the year that begins with the letter M.
Ans: M = {May, March}"
b. Write the set of natural numbers less than 6.
Ans: {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}"
c. Write the set of the animals in your yard. Ans: {dogs, cats, pigs, ducks}"
Ans: {dogs, cats, pigs, ducks}

Descriptive Method
  Uses a short verbal statement to describe the set.

 There a plenty of ways a set can be described.

Examples:
a. The set B containing 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12."

Ans: The set B is the set of even natural numbers less than 14.
The set B is the set of natural numbers between 1 and 15 that are divisible by 2
b. The set containing -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3"
Ans: The set of integers from -3 to 3.

Certain sets of numbers so frequently referred to that they are given special symbolic names.
These are summarized in the table below.

Number Type Symbol Description

Real Number R All the numbers in the
number line
Rational Numbers Q Division of one integer to
another
Integers Z Whole numbers and negative
numbers
Whole Numbers W Natural/ positive numbers and
zero
Negative Numbers Z- written as a minus sign before
their number
Natural/Positive Numbers Z+ Numbers greater than zero
Even Natural Numbers E Numbers divisible by 2
Odd Natural Numbers O Numbers not divisible by 2

Set-builder Notation Method

 Uses a variable, braces, and a vertical bar | that read as “such that”."
 Variables: symbol usually in letters
 Braces: { }
 Vertical Bar: |

Examples:
a. The set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}"
Ans: {x|x ∈ N and x < 7}, The example is read as “the" set of all x such that x is an
element of natural number and x is less than 7”.
b. Set R contains the Elements 2, 4, and 6"
Ans: R = {x|x ∈ E and x <7}, is read as “the set of all x such" that x is an element of
even natural number and x is less than 7”
c. Set W contains the elements red, yellow, and blue."
Ans: W = {x|x is a primary color}, is read as “the set of all x" such that x is a primary
color”
Ellipsis and Empty/ Null Sets

Ellipsis Empty/Null Sets

Symbol: . . . -a set with no elements
Read as: “and so forth” Symbol: Ø or { }
Examples: Examples:
a. Using the roster method, write the set a. The set of dogs with six legs.
containing all even natural numbers between b. The set of squares with 5 sides.
99 and 201. c. {x|x is a human being living in Mars}"
Ans: {100, 102, 104, . . ., 198,200}
b. Using the roster method, write the set of
counting numbers.
Ans: {1, 2, 3, . . .}"

Cardinal Number of a Set

 The number of elements in a set.
 Symbol: For set A the symbol is n(A), which is read as “n of A”

Examples:
a. H = {5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30}"
Ans: n(H) = 6
b. D = {x|x ∈ N and x <16}
Ans: n(D) = 15
c. K = {16}
Ans: n(K) = 1
d. Ø
Ans: n (Ø) = 0
e. B = {Ø} or B = { { } }
Ans: n(B) = 1

Finite and Infinite Sets

Finite Sets Infinite Sets
See the following examples: See the following examples:
1.A = {my friend} 1.The set of grains in a sack of rice
2.B = {11, 12, 13, 14, 15} 2. The set of stars in the sky
3.C = {k, l, m, n, o, p} 3.The set of stones in Cagayan River
4.D = {my uncle, my aunt, my niece} 4. The set of diameters in a circle
5.E = {the people on Barangay Lombog} 5.The set of Birds in the Philippines
From the examples above, how is a From the examples above, how is a
finite set defined. infinite set defined.
A finite set is a set whose elements can be A set in which the elements are so many that
counted or enumerated up to the last element. it is impossible to count or enumerate all of
 them is called infinite set.

Equal Sets and Equivalent Sets

Equal Sets Equivalent Sets

Two sets A and B are equal (written A = B) if Two finite sets A and B are said to be
they have exactly the same elements.” equivalent (written A ≈ B) if they have the
same number of elements:
that is, n(A) = n(B)

B. Subsets and Sets Operation

Universal Set
 The universal set (Symbol: U) for a given situation, is the set of all objects that" are
reasonable to consider in that situation.

Example:
Given that U = {5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12}, list the elements of the following" sets.
a) A = {x |x is a factor of 60}

A = {5, 6, 10, 12}"

b) B = {x |x is a prime number}
B = {5, 7, 11}"

In Venn diagrams, the universal set is usually represented by a rectangle and labeled U.

Example:
Draw a Venn diagram to represent the following sets:
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}
A = {1, 2, 5, 6}
B = {3, 9}

Solution:
Step 1: Draw a rectangle and label it U to represent the universal set.
Step 2: Draw circles within the rectangle to represent the other sets. Label the circles and write
the
relevant elements in each circle.
Step 3: Write the remaining elements outside the circles but within the rectangle.

U 4
A B 8
2 1

7
 9
5
6
3

Complement of a Set
 The complement of a set A (Symbol A’), is the set of elements in the universal set that
are
not in A. A’ = {x|x ∈ U and x ∉ A}

 The number of elements of A and the number of elements of A’ make up the total
number of elements in U. n(A) + n (A’ ) = n( U )

Example:
Let U = {x: x is an integer, –4 ≤ x ≤ 7}, P = {–4, –2, 0, 2, 4, 5, 6}"
a) List the elements of set P’

b) Draw a Venn diagram to display the sets U, P and P ’"

Solution:
a) First, list out the members of U."
U = {–4, –3, –2, –1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}"
P’ = {–3, –1, 1, 3, 7} ← in U but not in P"
b) Draw a Venn diagram to display the sets U, P and P’

U
P’ 1
P
-4
-3 -2 2 -1
5
6 4
7 3
0

Subset
 If every element of a set A is also an element of a set B, then A is called a subset of B"
(A ⊆ B). (Symbol: ⊆, ⊄ )"

 A is a subset of B if there are no elements in A that are not also in B.

 Things to remember in subsets:
 If a finite set has n elements, then the set has 2n subsets."
 Every set is a subset to itself.
  The empty set is a subset of every set.

Examples:

a. Find all subsets of b. Find all the subsets of To indicate that a set is not a
E = {x, y, z} V = {Cold, Flu} subset of another set, the
symbol ⊄ is used.
Ans: {x, y, z} Ans: {Cold, Flu} c.{1, 3} ⊄ {0, 3, 5, 7},
∅ ∅ because 1 ∉ {0, 3, 5, 7},"
{x, y} {Cold}
{y, z} {Flu}"
{x, z}
{x}
{y}
{z}"

Proper Subset
 If a set A is a subset of set B and is not equal to B, then we call A a proper subset and
write A ⊂ B. (Symbols: ⊂, ⊄).
 If a finite set has n elements, then the set has 2𝑛-1 proper subsets.

Example:
a. Find all the proper subset of {Marketing, English, Psychology}
Ans: {Marketing, English}, {Marketing, Psychology}, {English, Psychology},
{Marketing}, {English}, {Psychology}, ∅

The symbol ⊄ is used to indicate that the set is not a proper subset.

Example:
a. {1,3} ⊂ {1,3,5}
b. {1,3,5} ⊄ {1,3,5}

Intersections
 The intersection of two sets A and B (A ∩ B) is the set of all elements that are in both
sets. (A ∩ B = {x|x ∈ A and x ∈ B})
 A B

The shaded area shows A ∩ B.

Example 1
Draw a Venn diagram to represent the relationship between the sets X = {1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10} and
Y = {1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10}

Solution:
We find that X ∩ Y = {1, 5, 6, 10} ← in both X and Y"

U
First, fill in the elements for X ∩ Y
X Y
2 1 3

7 5 4
6
9 10 8

Example 2
Draw a Venn diagram to represent the relationship between the sets X = {1, 6, 9} and Y = {1, 3,
5, 6, 8, 9}

Solution:
We find that X ∩ Y = {1, 6, 9} which is equal to the set X"

U
First, fill in the elements for X ∩ Y
3
Y
5 X
1
 6
8 9

Example 3
Draw a Venn diagram to represent the relationship between the sets X = {1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9},
Y = {1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8} and Z = {3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10}"

U X Y First, fill in the elements for X ∩ Y ∩ Z

2 1
Write in remaining elements for X ∩ Y
9 5 4
7 3
6
8 Write in remaining elements for Y ∩ Z

10
Write in remaining elements for X ∩ Z
Z

Solution:
X ∩ Y ∩ Z = {5, 6}
X ∩ Y = {1, 5, 6}
Y ∩ Z = {3, 5, 6, 8}
X ∩ Z = {5, 6, 7}

Union
 The union of two sets A and B (A U B) is the set of all elements that are in either set A
or set B (or both). (A U B = {x|x ∈ A or x ∈ B})

A B
 The shaded area shows A U B.

Example 1:
Given:
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10}

X = {1, 2, 6, 7}
Y = {1, 3, 4, 5, 8}
Find X ∪ Y and draw a Venn diagram to illustrate X ∪ Y.

Solution:
X ∪ Y = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8} ← 1 is written only once.

U
X Y
3 The shade region indicates X ∪ Y
2
1 4
6 5
7 8
10

Example 2:
Given:
U = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10}"
X = {1, 6, 9}
Y = {1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9}

Find X ∪ Y and draw a Venn diagram to illustrate X ∪ Y.

Solution:
X ∪ Y = {1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9}

U
Since X ⊂ Y then X U Y = Y
3
Y
 5 X
10 1
6
8 9 4
2
7